Thune Says Pre-Recess Senate Votes on Bedoya 'Unlikely,' Definitely 'Not' for Sohn
Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., cast renewed doubt Tuesday on the chances the chamber will do a discharge vote this week on FCC nominee Gigi Sohn or take further action on FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya, which would delay further consideration of the two candidates before the Senate gavels out for a two-week recess set to last until April 25. The Senate appeared to be prioritizing confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, with an eye to give her final approval Thursday or Friday.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., filed cloture Tuesday on Jackson after the chamber voted 53-47 earlier in the day on a motion to proceed to her nomination. The Senate cast an identical vote Monday to discharge the Judiciary Committee’s jurisdiction on Jackson after the panel tied 11-11 on advancing her. The nominee urged Congress during Judiciary’s confirmation hearings last month to update existing laws to reflect the influence of emerging technologies (see 2203240061).
It’s “unlikely” the Senate will move on either Bedoya or Sohn this week, “but for sure not on Sohn,” Thune told us: “She’s got problems” within the Senate Democratic caucus. The Senate discharged Bedoya last week from Commerce Committee jurisdiction on a 51-50 vote with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tiebreaker. Leaders’ delay in seeking a similar vote on Sohn amplified chatter that Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and a handful of Senate Democrats facing tough re-election fights this year, including Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, may be undecided on the nominee, amid the Fraternal Order of Police’s opposition to her confirmation (see 2203300069).
“I don’t know how many” Senate Democrats have problems with Sohn right now, “but they’re strong,” Thune said: “If there’s no Republicans on board” with the nominee and “at least one Democrat” publicly opposes her, “I think the administration’s going to have to think long and hard about whether or not they want to continue to try and advance the nomination. It might be good for them to try and consult with some of the folks on” the Democratic side of the aisle over the upcoming recess on how to move forward. Thune, who’s also Communications Subcommittee ranking member, and the other 13 Senate Commerce Republicans uniformly voted against advancing Bedoya and Sohn last month (see 2203030070).
Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., maintained Tuesday she doesn’t “know anything about” any Democratic holdouts on Sohn. “I would hope” the Senate can get to Bedoya and Sohn before the recess, but “there’s a bunch of stuff that’s in the queue” and there’s a “hierarchy” of issues and nominees that could get priority, she told us. Several Sohn supporters cautioned that no Senate Democrat has publicly raised qualms about Sohn, and they believe FOP’s criticisms of the nominee won’t stand up to lawmakers’ scrutiny as they evaluate the nominee. FOP opposes Sohn because of her role as an Electronic Frontier Foundation member (see 2201040071), citing EFF’s backing of end-to-end encryption and “user-only-access.”
Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, one of the Democrats said to be undecided on Sohn over the FOP concerns, told us Tuesday he’s still “looking at” Sohn’s nomination and “evaluating” her experience and other factors as he decides whether to back her confirmation. FOP wrote Kelly and eight other Democrats last month urging them to oppose Sohn. Other Democratic senators cited as potential undecideds, including Cortez Masto, didn’t comment.